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‘They taste of winter,’ she said. ‘And childhood.’
He was about to say something else when the truck’s headlights illuminated a sign and he let out a sigh of relief. ‘We’re here. The pub should be just around the… There it is!’
‘The White Hart,’ she read, seeing the yellow glow of lights through the pub’s windows spilling into the darkness.
Except, it wasn’t totally dark. The sky was that strange shade of greyish yellow it got when it was laden with snow, and the white stuff on the ground meant that it would have been possible to see where you were going even without the streetlights.
As Seren got stiffly out of the truck and stretched her tension-taut limbs, she saw that the flakes were coming down less heavily than earlier.
‘Don’t even think it,’ Daniel said, taking her hand and pulling her towards the pub’s entrance. ‘Even if it stops completely, the roads will still be blocked.’
‘I suppose you’re right,’ she said. ‘It’s just that I’ve got work tomorrow.’
‘They’ll have to do without you,’ Daniel said as they stepped inside a small porch.
Warmth and a delicious smell of food hit her, and Seren felt herself relax a little. Even if the pub didn’t have any rooms for the night, at least they could have a decent meal. They’d worry about being turned out onto the street later. For now, all she wanted to do was to warm up, have a sip of brandy (purely for medicinal purposes) and take a gander at the menu.
Daniel had other ideas. ‘Excuse me, do you have two rooms available for tonight?’ He was speaking to a middle-aged woman behind the bar who was pulling a pint of creamy dark ale.
She placed it in front of a man who looked as though he’d been there for a while, judging by the colour in his cheeks and the bleariness of his eyes.
‘Cheers,’ the bloke said, lifting his pint and taking a deep swallow.
The barmaid frowned. ‘I’ll have to roll him home at this rate, and it’s not seven o’clock yet. What’s it like out there? Still snowing?’
‘I think it’s easing off a little.’
‘Got caught in it, did you?’
‘Just a bit. I think we’re stuck here for the night, if you can put us up?’
The woman pulled a face. ‘I dunno. We stopped letting rooms out over a year ago. Too much hassle.’
Daniel blew out his cheeks. ‘Is there anywhere else in the village?’
‘Not that I know of.’
‘OK, thanks anyway. We’ll just have to make the best of sleeping in the truck.’ Daniel put his arm around Seren and murmured, ‘We’ll be fine. I’ll keep the engine running, so we should be warm enough.’
‘You can’t sleep in a truck,’ the barmaid said. ‘You’ll freeze to death. Let me see what I can do. We knocked most of the bedrooms into one to make a function room, and the one we didn’t is full of spare tables and stuff. Wait here.’
She went to walk away, but before she did Daniel asked, ‘Can we have a look at the menu?’
She gave him two, then disappeared through a doorway, so Seren made her way to a table by a log burner. She intended to absorb all the warmth she could while she could, before they were turfed out at the end of the evening.
Taking her layers off, she sat down and stretched out her feet to the fire to toast her toes, then she checked out her surroundings.
The pub was a lovely olde-worlde, flag-stoned, wooden-beamed affair, with stone walls and tapestry style soft furnishings. The bar was dark polished wood and behind it an impressive selection of bottles glittered, the light of several table lamps reflecting off them. The place looked clean and welcoming, and if the smells from the kitchen were any indication, the food would hopefully be tasty and filling. Seren had the feeling they were going to need a substantial meal inside them if they were to get through the night without freezing to death.
Daniel still looked worried, even though he was doing his best not to show it, and it was that which troubled her more than anything.
‘What do you fancy?’ he asked, his eyes on the menu. ‘I think I’ll go for the steak and ale pie.’
‘Make that two,’ Seren said. ‘And chips. It’s got to be chips.’
‘Wine?’
‘Better not.’ It was tempting to have a glass, but if she was going to be in such close proximity to Daniel all night she wanted to keep a clear head.
